Tag Archives: fiction

Review of “The Testament of Magdalen Blair” by Aleister Crowley: Halloween Countdown

For October 28 I feel obligated to add that this story advocates suicide. There is no depiction of it, but the argument for it is, IMHO, overwrought to say the least, and—if it needs to be said—sad. Plot:Magdalen Blair resolves to warn mankind (I’m sure she means to include women, too) to follow her exampleContinue reading “Review of “The Testament of Magdalen Blair” by Aleister Crowley: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Screaming Skull” by F. Marion Crawford: Halloween Countdown

Plot:Retired Captain Braddock has come to live in his late cousin Luke Pratt’s house. Cousin Luke was a doctor. His wife pre-deceased him. Their son was killed (in the Boer War?) in South Africa. Braddock isn’t nervous—so he keeps telling his unnamed houseguest, who is also an old sailor. He’s heard the skull scream often.Continue reading “Review of “The Screaming Skull” by F. Marion Crawford: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “Schalken the Painter” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: Halloween Countdown

For October 22 Plot:The painting by the artist Godfrey Schalken is a family heirloom. A woman in a white dress, part of which forms a veil. She holds a lamp, lighting her features, an effect at which its creator excelled. It shows her “arch smile,” as if she’s pulled off some prank. Behind her, inContinue reading “Review of “Schalken the Painter” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Mark of the Beast” by Rudyard Kipling: Halloween Countdown

For October 18 Plot: It’s New Year’s Eve in India during the Raj. Strickland of the police; Fleete, newly arrived and unfamiliar with native customs; and the unnamed narrator are tying one on—especially Fleete. His family’s property is in the hinterlands, so he usually doesn’t come into town. He ends up staggering home because hisContinue reading “Review of “The Mark of the Beast” by Rudyard Kipling: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Listener” by Algernon Blackwood: Halloween Countdown

For October 17 Plot: In a series of diary entries, the unnamed narrator tells the reader how he took new rooms in a less-then-affluent part of town. The lodgings lack “modern conveniences,” presumably running water and electricity. He’s a writer with several irons in the fire, and—whaddya know—he’s poor. Not that he had to be.Continue reading “Review of “The Listener” by Algernon Blackwood: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Gorgon” by Clark Ashton Smith: Halloween Countdown

For October 13 Plot: Traveling after the death of the only woman he loved, the grieving main character in this short tale comes across an odd character in the crowded streets of London. The old man reminds him of Charon, ferrying souls to the Underworld. The modern-day Charon locks eyes with him. “I can seeContinue reading “Review of “The Gorgon” by Clark Ashton Smith: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “Casting the Runes” by M. R. James: Halloween Countdown

For October 8 Plot: The story opens with an exchange of letters in which the secretary of the “—Association” tells Mr. Karswell the Association has, after careful consideration, declined to accept his paper, “The Truth of Alchemy.” Mr. Karswell wants to know who’s responsible for the decision. The secretary tells him that he cannot possiblyContinue reading “Review of “Casting the Runes” by M. R. James: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Feast at the Abbey” by Robert Bloch: Halloween Countdown

For October 7 Plot: Traveling through a forest to meet his brother, the narrator is caught in a storm and takes refuge in a monastery he happens across. A short, rotund abbot admits him and summons two servants (whom he refers to with the unfortunate term “blackamoors”) dressed in “great baggy trousers of red velvetContinue reading “Review of “The Feast at the Abbey” by Robert Bloch: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Burned House” by Vincent O’Sullivan: Halloween Countdown

For October 5 Plot: Aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic, the narrator hears other passengers discuss being (maybe) over the spot where the Lusitania went down, which leads to a discussion of death by drowning and a discussion of ghosts, which in turn leads to laughter. One passenger, a man from Fall River (MA?), doesContinue reading “Review of “The Burned House” by Vincent O’Sullivan: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “Rapture-Palooza” (2013)

What would Saturday night pizza and bad movie be without a bad movie? It had its moments, but it also had moments of ICK. Plot:Lindsey Lewis (Anna Kendrick) and her boyfriend Ben House (John Francis Daley) missed the rapture. Lindsey’s mom was raptured but was sent back, complete with white robe and number, after sheContinue reading “Review of “Rapture-Palooza” (2013)”